The present invention relates generally to fixed wireless communication systems and, in particular, to a method for selecting geographic areas in which to deploy fixed wireless communication systems.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 deregulated local telephone service, thereby enabling new service providers, such as competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), to compete with local telephone companies to install, lease, and/or resell unbundled loop or switch access services to customers. As a result of the Act, CLECs have the opportunity to compete with local exchange carriers (LECs or local telephone companies) and alternative service providers, such as commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) providers, in offering customers access to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Internet service providers (ISPs) may also become CLECs in order to meet competitive pressure to reduce Internet access rates. With the continually increasing popularity of the Internet and the trend for ISPs to also provide CLEC services (or CLECs to provide Internet access services), existing and potential customers are demanding more features and bandwidth from the carriers of Internet traffic. A major portion of such demand is for Internet access to owners of rural businesses and residences.
The net effect of the convergence of voice and the Internet is competition between LECs to provide a complete voice and data communications solutions to rural businesses and residences. Such competition can exist only if CLECs or CMRS providers can efficiently design networks that meet or exceed voice and data service specifications of current LEC networks.
Although certain types of high speed (i.e., greater than 56 kilobits per second (kbps)) Internet service, such as integrated digital services network (ISDN), asymmetric digital subscriber lines (ADSL) and/or DSL, are alleged to be provided or forthcoming in some low populous or rural markets (i.e., with populations of less than approximately 165,000 persons), such service is either inferior or has yet to be implemented due to the substantial distance (e.g., twenty-five miles or more) of the markets from the central serving offices of the service providers. These low populous or lower tier markets (e.g., cities and counties) often include educated and successful segments of the population desirous of an alternative to traditional low speed, dial-up methods of Internet access. The combination of the lack of CLECs and DSL providers, and the poor service offered by the existing LECs serving these lower tier markets provides market opportunity for new broadband service providers.
Fixed wireless networks (FWNs), such as wireless local loops (WLLs), are an efficient means for providing access to the PSTN or the Internet in rural or low populous areas. Such networks include a wireless infrastructure, such as base transceiver sites (BTSs), and wireline switching equipment within a so-called local access and transport area (LATA). An LATA is a geographic area served by one or more LECs and in which access to the PSTN is provided via a PSTN access switch, such as a conventional local access tandem switch. The BTSs are connected to localized switching equipment via leased high speed lines (e.g., where the FWN provider is also the LEC) or via microwave links. The localized switching equipment is then connected to the PSTN through the PSTN access switch.
In existing WLL networks, a remote wireless transceiver and antenna system is attached to the outside of a residence or business and connected to the telephone lines located within the building. A call emanating from a subscriber within the residence or business is communicated through the in-building telephone lines to the remote wireless transceiver, which in turn communicates the call to a BTS via a wireless communication resource or channel. The BTS forwards the call to the localized switching equipment. The switching equipment then routes the call to the appropriate PSTN or WLL subscriber (when the target subscriber is within the LATA) or to the calling subscriber""s interexchange carrier (IXC) for long distance service. Thus, WLL networks are coupled to the PSTN and IXCs via localized switching in a manner similar to conventional telephone networks. Existing WLLs are currently limited to providing local exchange services (i.e., local and long-distance telephone services), although wireless technology exists to support both voice and data.
Although WLL technology is a means for providing telephone and data services to low populous areas, existing approaches to implementing FWNs are time-consuming and costly due in large part to the costs and time required to deploy localized switching equipment in each LATA. The increased time and cost associated with deploying localized switching equipment delay the offering of broadband services to low populous areas and make competing with existing LECs difficult. In addition, although all rural areas would ultimately enjoy broadband services, especially high speed Internet access, delivery to all such areas or markets may be limited by the lack of available wireline infrastructure. Thus, only certain lower tier markets are practical candidates for rapid deployment of broadband FWN systems. However, no method currently exists for selecting which low populous markets are good, practical candidates.
Therefore, a need exists for a method of selecting low populous markets in which to deploy fixed wireless communication systems, wherein such markets support rapid deployment of such systems.
Generally, the present invention encompasses a method for selecting geographic areas in which to deploy fixed wireless communication systems. A fixed wireless communication system includes wireless subsystems connected via microwave links to a backbone network comprising a particular arrangement of points of presence (POPs), points of interface (POIs), regional switching centers, and router subsystems that connect the wireless subsystems to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and/or the Internet (e.g., via an Internet backbone system, such as the xe2x80x9cUUNETxe2x80x9d backbone system which is commercially available from UUNET Technologies, Inc. of Fairfax, Va.). Fiber optic transmission lines are preferably used to transport voice, data, and/or video from POIs to POPs to switching centers, and vice versa. Importantly, the backbone network does not utilize localized switching in each local access and transport area (LATA) to couple the wireless subsystems to the PSTN. Rather, the present invention utilizes existing POPs and POIs, and unique regional switching to hub several LATAs, thereby substantially reducing infrastructure costs and expediting deployment of the system in appropriately selected, low populous markets.
Since the fixed wireless communication system to be deployed in accordance with the present invention takes advantage of at least some existing wireline infrastructure, the method for selecting low populous geographic areas or markets in which to deploy such a system is at least partially dependent on the availability of such infrastructure. In particular, market selection is accomplished in accordance with one aspect of the present invention by first selecting only markets in which the populations rank between approximately the twentieth and the eightieth percentiles (also known as lower tier markets) of a country""s regional populations ranked in increasing order to produce a first set of selected markets. Next, the markets in the first set are further refined by selecting only those markets in the first set that have population centers within a predetermined distance (e.g., approximately one hundred twenty (120) kilometers or seventy-five (75) miles) of population centers of regions (e.g., county or other equivalent government-established region) having populations greater than the eightieth percentile of the country""s regional populations ranked in increasing order to produce a second set of selected markets. The markets in the second set are further limited by selecting only those markets of the second set in which the most populated city in the market is within a predetermined distance (e.g., approximately forty (40) kilometers or twenty-five (25) miles) of an existing microwave transceiver site (MTS) or fiber POP to produce a third set of markets. Finally, the third set of markets is further restricted by selecting only those markets in which the per capita personal income (PCPI) is greater than a defined threshold (e.g., $20,000) to produce the desired markets in which to deploy the system.
If the resulting desired set of markets is too large, the set may be further restricted in accordance with another aspect of the present invention by selecting markets in which the household density is greater than a threshold (e.g., 150 households per square kilometer), by selecting markets in which a threshold number (e.g., three or more) of state roadways or federal highways pass through at least a portion of the market, by taking into consideration wireless frequency spectrum availability (or lack thereof) in the markets for the wireless portion of the system, and/or by taking into account other considerations, such as existing broadband competition (or lack thereof) in the markets.
By selecting geographic areas in which to deploy fixed wireless communication systems in this manner, the present invention enables new broadband service providers to rapidly enter the broadband service market and become providers of local exchange primary line subscriber service, high speed Internet access, and/or long distance service (via connection to an IXC) without substantial wireline infrastructure investment and deployment. The present invention also provides a means for filling the void in broadband service that currently exists in lower tier markets (i.e., markets with populations of less than about 165,000 persons) left by competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.